Sociable Movie Guy
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A Stylishly-Made Biopic of An Uncelebrated HeroWe’ve known so many heroes in our life, whether we know it from history books, films, or any other mediums. We also have our own definition of heroes, ranging from the ones who inspire us to be better to the people who really save a nation. In ‘The Imitation Game’, Norwegian director Morten Tyldum brings us a story of the unsung hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), a British mathematician who helps crack the Enigma code in World War II. What he does eventually wins The Allies the war against Nazi Germany. As the director, Morten Tyldum successfully crafts a feature that makes the viewers know who Alan Turing is and make them care about him. This in part thanks to Graham Moore who adapts the screenplay from its original source Andrew Hodges’ ‘Alan Turing: The Enigma’. They let us see Alan Turing's life in three different phases. The first one highlights him as a teenager and his relationship with his best friend Christopher, the second one focuses on the time when he tries to build and crack the code with the machine, and the last one tells what happens after he successfully ends the war with his machine. That, in fact, is a good thing because the viewers are given the chance to become invested in him. But here’s the catch, those three phases are not told in chronological order. The film is switching back and forth between those three phases very smoothly thanks to William Goldenberg who skillfully edits the film. The film is also very beautiful to look at, particularly because its production and custom design. The ‘Turing Machine’ looks so elegant as well as sophisticated. The clothes all the characters wear look classy and suit the era in which the events in the film happen. But I have to say that the highlight of this film is the very man who portrays Alan Turing, the one and only, Benedict Cumberbatch. As a man, Alan Turing has complex characteristics, he is genius, narcissistic, rigid, and fragile. And Cumberbatch delivers each characteristic on-spot! The way he stutters his words is perfection (and I bet it’s not the easiest thing to do!). Frankly speaking, his performance is quite similar with the one he does in television series ‘Sherlock’ (especially the genius and narcissistic part), but he infuses his character with more vulnerability here. Acting credit goes to Keira Knightley too. As the genius and warm-hearted Joan Clarke, Knightley shines so adorably. Here, she’s not only pretty, but also very charming. She gets her dramatic moment too in the film, but I find it to be the weakest part of her performance (far from bad, but still she’s at her best when she’s being adorable and charming, which I believe is also hard to play). We can see why (SPOILER ALERT!) Alan Turing eventually becomes so attached to her. For their excellent performances, it is very likely that they will be nominated in next year’s Oscar alongside the director, the editor, the scriptwriter, and the film itself. The production designer, the custom designer, and the art direction team have some chances in snagging nominations too.
This film is not without flaws. One of them is the score by Alexandre Desplat. As a well-known composer, I expected something more from him. His score is just okay, but not awesome. Another thing that pretty bothers me is at some parts of the film, it feels like I’m watching something that is being fast-forwarded. My guess is it is because the limited duration. I personally think that it would be better if the film was 30 minutes longer, since there are scenes that (to me) need clearer explanation. Luckily, those scenes are not the vital ones so they don’t affect the film that much. Last but not least, I'd like to say big, big thanks to Jiffest 2014 (Jakarta International Film Festival) for bringing this film to town. Keep up the good work!! Score: 4.5/5 Note: trough this review, I’d also like to show my gratitude to Mr. Alan Turing, The Father of Computer Science, whose ‘Turing Machine’ is actually a model of a general purpose computer. Without him, I’d not even be able to have this blog. Thank you, Mr. Turing.
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AuthorA self-acclaimed movie guy who likes to socialize |